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Covid raises risk of heart issues in children more than vaccination Tue, 04 Nov 2025 23:30:20 +0000 Getting covid-19 for the first time slightly increased the risk of heart inflammation, blood clots and bleeding disorders among children, whereas being vaccinated against the virus was much safer and sometimes protective

The fascinating story of the ultimate cosmic law Tue, 04 Nov 2025 18:00:39 +0000 How do we know the speed of light – and why does it have a speed limit at all? Leah Crane explores the history of one of the most important numbers in the universe

We're closing in on how genetics may influence your PCOS risk Tue, 04 Nov 2025 17:00:44 +0000 In the largest genetic analysis of polycystic ovary syndrome to date, scientists have identified new variants linked to the condition, which could help us treat it more effectively

How preppers plan to save us if the whole internet collapses Tue, 04 Nov 2025 16:00:14 +0000 Recent outages have revealed how vulnerable the internet is, but there seems to be no official plan in the event of a catastrophic failure. Meet the team of hackers who are ready to jump into action

COP30: Can Brazil summit get climate negotiations back on track? Tue, 04 Nov 2025 14:00:40 +0000 Expectations are low for the UN climate conference in Belém, Brazil, but the host’s pragmatic approach could help make progress on implementation

Advanced quantum network could be a prototype for the quantum internet Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:37:24 +0000 Building a working quantum internet would require overcoming a host of technical challenges, but researchers who have built one of the most advanced quantum networks to date say they think it is possible

Brightest black hole flare ever caused by huge star being ripped apart Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:00:13 +0000 A distant black hole has been caught releasing the brightest flare ever, which is the result of it ripping apart and devouring an enormous star

Cavities could be prevented by a gel that restores tooth enamel Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Enamel does not naturally regenerate, which can lead to painful cavities, but a gel that harnesses some of the properties of saliva could restore the hard, shiny layer to teeth

Walking 3000 steps a day seems to slow Alzheimer's-related decline Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:07:22 +0000 Alzheimer's-related cognitive decline could be slowed by taking as few as 3000 steps a day, possibly due to the effects of regular exercise on brain health

Our bodies are ageing faster than ever. Can we hit the brakes? Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:00:59 +0000 All over the world people are ageing more rapidly and succumbing to diseases that typically affected the elderly. But there are ways to turn back the clock on your biological age

Antarctic glacier's alarming retreat is the fastest ever seen Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:00:09 +0000 Hektoria glacier on the Antarctic Peninsula retreated 25 kilometres in just 15 months. Its rapid melt could have implications for other glaciers and the rate of sea level rise

Does the family tree of ancient humans need a drastic rewrite? Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Anthropologist Christopher Bae has recently suggested we add two new species of ancient human to our family tree. The plans break the conventions for how species should be named – but Bae argues the rules themselves are flawed

SpaceX's Starlink and other satellites face growing threat from sun Mon, 03 Nov 2025 13:00:35 +0000 There are now over 10,000 satellites in orbit, more than at any point in history, and this growing number is starting to reveal how solar storms could disrupt internet mega constellations like SpaceX's Starlink

We may have found a surprisingly nearby cluster of primordial stars Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:00:16 +0000 The very first generation of stars, called Population III stars, are mostly expected to be too distant to see directly – but astronomers may have found some for the very first time

Orcas are ganging up on great white sharks to eat their livers Mon, 03 Nov 2025 05:00:20 +0000 For the first time, video footage has captured orcas in the Gulf of California hunting young great white sharks, using a trick to flip them over, paralise them and get at their energy-rich livers

How a surge in ancient plagues 5000 years ago shaped humanity Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:00:31 +0000 Plague, leprosy, smallpox and other diseases didn't jump from animals to humans when we thought. Ancient DNA is revealing where they come from and how they changed history

'Most of it is good': Tim Berners-Lee on the state of the web now Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:00:26 +0000 The man who invented the web is aware of the many issues it faces, from problematic social media use to the rise of unfettered AI. He also has a plan to remedy the situation

No space, no time, no particles: A radical vision of quantum reality Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:00:41 +0000 If we admit that quantum numbers are the true essence of reality – not particles, space or time – then a surprising and beautiful new vision of reality opens up to us

Nature documentary shot on Super 8 film is ravishing and unpredictable Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 In Ed Sayers's breathtaking documentary, a global community of film-makers capture the wildlife in their local areas. It's a bold departure from the glossy perspective of traditional nature documentaries, says Simon Ings

Quantum computers reveal that the wave function is a real thing Fri, 31 Oct 2025 17:00:37 +0000 The uncertainty inherent to quantum mechanics has long left physicists wondering whether the observations we make on the quantum level reflect reality - a new test suggests they do

The gut microbiome may play a role in shaping our personality Fri, 31 Oct 2025 12:00:40 +0000 Rats given a faecal transplant from exuberant toddlers showed more exploratory behaviour, supporting the idea that gut bacteria might affect children’s emotional development

Denisovans may have interbred with mysterious group of ancient humans Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:13:43 +0000 We now have only the second high-quality genome from an ancient Denisovan human, which reveals there were more populations of this species than we thought

Bulletproof fabric laced with carbon nanotubes is stronger than Kevlar Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:00:07 +0000 A sheet of fabric that is three times stronger than Kevlar could stop a bullet despite being just 1.8 millimetres thick, thanks to the addition of carbon nanotubes that keep its molecules aligned

Your flight emissions are way higher than carbon calculators suggest Fri, 31 Oct 2025 12:32:55 +0000 Existing tools that work out the carbon footprint of flights greatly underestimate their warming impact, say the makers of a new calculator

The best new science fiction books of November 2025 Fri, 31 Oct 2025 12:00:38 +0000 From Claire North’s new novel Slow Gods to a 10th anniversary edition of a brilliant Adrian Tchaikovsky book, there’s lots to watch out for in November’s science fiction

Magnetic gel could remove kidney stones more effectively Thu, 30 Oct 2025 18:00:44 +0000 Standard techniques for removing kidney stones often require repeated surgery, but a magnetic gel seems to make the process more efficient

Our verdict on Our Brains, Our Selves: A mix of praise and misgivings Fri, 31 Oct 2025 09:40:29 +0000 The New Scientist Book Club has various issues with Masud Husain's prize-winning popular science book about neurology

Book Club: Read an extract from Every Version of You by Grace Chan Fri, 31 Oct 2025 09:30:59 +0000 In this passage from the opening of Grace Chan’s sci-fi novel, the November read for the New Scientist Book Club, we are introduced to her protagonists as they spend time in a virtual utopia which is becoming increasingly tempting in a dying world

If you could upload your mind to a virtual utopia, would you? Fri, 31 Oct 2025 09:30:31 +0000 Grace Chan, author of Every Version of You, the November read for the New Scientist Book Club, explores the philosophical implications of the choices her characters make

Owning our own data is the only way to stop enshittifcation Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The internet is not what it once was, with so many apps and websites mere shadows of themselves. Thankfully, the inventor of the web Tim Berners-Lee, has a fix that we should adopt

New Scientist recommends Never Let Me Go Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

Cats revealed in all their glory in stunning new photographs Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:45 +0000 Photographer Tim Flach's new book Feline explores the mysterious and irresistible world of cats, from the domesticated to the wild, and why we love them

Has life today been enshittified? Cory Doctorow's new book explores Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes

Boy's body was mummified and turned green by a copper coffin Fri, 31 Oct 2025 06:00:14 +0000 The green mummified remains of a teenager buried in Italy 200 to 400 years ago have given us new insights into the preservative properties of copper

Sorry, but interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS really is a comet, not aliens Thu, 30 Oct 2025 19:00:19 +0000 Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are exciting, but there is no reason to claim that they are evidence of alien spacecraft – sometimes a comet is just comet, says Robin George Andrews

The US is unlikely to test nuclear weapons, despite what Trump says Thu, 30 Oct 2025 16:10:12 +0000 President Donald Trump appears to have ordered a return to nuclear testing after decades of uneasy but effective treaties banning the practice – but will it actually happen?

Dinosaur skeleton settles long debate over 'tiny T. rex' fossils Thu, 30 Oct 2025 16:00:54 +0000 Palaeontologists have argued for decades over whether certain fossils are young Tyrannosaurus rex or another species entirely – now they have strong evidence that the diminutive Nanotyrannus really existed

The end of US support for the CMB-S4 telescope is devastating Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The US government's decision to stop supporting a telescope facility that would have given us unprecedented insight into the early universe is calamitous, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Minecraft fan may be most committed hobbyist out there Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback comes across a YouTuber's efforts to build a large language model in Minecraft and is impressed at the scale of it – even if it doesn't quite live up to its promise to blow your mind "in spectacular fashion"

Germanium superconductor could help build reliable quantum computers Thu, 30 Oct 2025 10:00:01 +0000 A new type of germanium superconductor could allow classical and quantum chips to be built into one device, creating better and more reliable quantum computers.

Tough choices lie ahead when it comes to climate change adaptation Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 COP's negotiations this month will focus on money for climate change adaptation. While more money is essential, even a big increase won't be enough on its own and we need to face up to this, warns Susannah Fisher

Why zero is the most important number in all of mathematics Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:01:42 +0000 It took a long time for zero to be recognised as a number at all, let alone one of the most powerful ones – but now it’s clear that every number is made up of zeroes, says Jacob Aron

Provocative book sets out to solve the hard problem of consciousness Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Can sea slugs form abstract thoughts? Do we dare to see any "purpose" in evolution? Is the subjective just a complicated form of the objective? Nikolay Kukushkin's One Hand Clapping is a bold voyage around the mysteries of the human mind, finds Thomas Lewton

Stem cell therapy lowers risk of heart failure after a heart attack Wed, 29 Oct 2025 23:30:31 +0000 People who receive stem cell therapy within a week of their first heart attack have nearly a 60 per cent lower risk of developing heart failure years later

A tiny nearby galaxy is home to a shockingly enormous black hole Wed, 29 Oct 2025 20:03:53 +0000 One of the Milky Way’s smallest galactic neighbours seems to have a supermassive black hole at its centre, upending assumptions that it was dominated by dark matter

Prehistoric crayons provide clues to how Neanderthals created art Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:29 +0000 Ochre artefacts found in Crimea show signs of having been used for drawing, adding to evidence that Neanderthals used pigments in symbolic ways

Analogue computers could train AI 1000 times faster and cut energy use Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:44 +0000 Computers built with analogue circuits promise huge speed and efficiency gains over ordinary computers, but normally at the cost of accuracy. Now, an analogue computer designed to carry out calculations that are key to AI training could fix that

Can't focus after a bad night's sleep? Your dirty brain is to blame Wed, 29 Oct 2025 10:15:34 +0000 During sleep, your brain cleans itself by flushing through cerebrospinal fluid to prevent damage to brain cells. If you're lacking in sleep, this happens when you are awake – and seems to cause momentary lapses in attention

Quantum-inspired algorithm could help reveal hidden cosmic objects Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:46:45 +0000 Combining a quantum-inspired algorithm and quantum information processing technologies could enable researchers to measure masses of cosmic objects that bend light almost imperceptibly

US public health system is flying blind after major cuts Tue, 28 Oct 2025 19:12:49 +0000 The Trump administration has laid off government workers integral to major public health surveys, meaning the country will lack crucial information on births, deaths and illnesses nationwide

Why Hurricane Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:06:24 +0000 The monster hurricane pummelling Jamaica is powered by abnormal sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean, which were made at least 500 times more likely by global warming

Men may have to exercise more than women to get same heart benefits Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:00:59 +0000 Among over-50s, women seem to require less exercise than men to get the same reduction in heart disease risk, suggesting health guidelines need to be updated

Billionaires must not be allowed to geoengineer the planet Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 There is nothing stopping the wealthiest people from attempting to alter the world's atmosphere – this must not be allowed to happen

Solar energy is going to power the world much sooner than you think Thu, 23 Oct 2025 13:00:27 +0100 Solar electricity is growing rapidly, but can it really dominate the global energy system? Here is what it will take for us to power the planet on sunshine

Unpicking the genetics of fibromyalgia sheds new light on its causes Fri, 24 Oct 2025 12:00:31 +0100 Fibromyalgia, which causes chronic pain all over the body, is poorly understood, but two studies – made up of millions of participants – are helping us get to the roots of the condition

Why group exercise is better than working out alone Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 When it comes to boosting mental health and even improving performance, team sports and group exercise come out on top, finds Grace Wade

Everything is perimenopause now – but what if it’s not? Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:00:54 +0100 Many of the signs of perimenopause can also be symptoms of other conditions, and some of these get increasingly dangerous if they’re misdiagnosed

Must-watch documentary shows how Bush Senior failed the climate Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 The White House Effect is a distressing look back at how President George H. W. Bush came to abandon his climate ambitions. It is essential viewing and a glimpse at a world that could have been, says Bethan Ackerley

What 350 different theories of consciousness reveal about reality Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:00:39 +0100 There are hundreds of coherent theories attempting to explain the origins of experience. Robert Lawrence Kuhn explores what they reveal about free will, artificial intelligence and life after death

How to nurture infant microbiomes for a lifetime of good mental health Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:49:08 +0100 The microbes that take hold in our bodies during early life have long-term effects on our brain health. Helen Thomson investigates how to get kids’ microbiomes off to the best start.

How worried should we be about noxious chemicals from dead satellites? Tue, 21 Oct 2025 17:00:41 +0100 We have more satellites than ever before, but when they burn up they create a new kind of air pollution. Evidence is now revealing what effects this could have and how to tackle it

Common IVF test misses some genetic abnormalities in embryos Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:00:52 +0100 Human embryos formed with in vitro fertilisation can develop genetic abnormalities in the time between genetic testing and implantation – though this may not affect their viability

Teenager builds advanced robot hand entirely from Lego pieces Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:00:05 +0100 A four-fingered robotic hand built from Lego Mindstorms pieces can push, pull and grip with almost as much force as a leading 3D-printed hand

We may finally know why birds sing at dawn Fri, 24 Oct 2025 07:00:17 +0100 Birds all over the world break into a dawn chorus every morning – now experiments in zebra finches suggest both a mechanistic and a functional explanation for this phenomenon

Exclusive: Climate scientists expect attempts to dim the sun by 2100 Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:00:06 +0100 An exclusive New Scientist survey of leading scientists reveals widespread concern that schemes to tweak Earth’s atmosphere could launch within decades in a risky bid to cool the planet

Testosterone helps libido in menopause – can it treat other symptoms? Thu, 23 Oct 2025 19:17:09 +0100 A growing body of research suggests testosterone replacement therapy can alleviate menopausal symptoms such as a decrease in libido, mood swings and brain fog. But some in the field are sceptical

The extraordinary influence of the lymphatic system on our health Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:00:07 +0100 It has remained mysterious for millennia, but we’re finally uncovering the profound role the lymphatic system plays in everything from preventing dementia to fighting cancer

Civet coffee: The real chemistry behind this bizarre luxury drink Thu, 23 Oct 2025 17:00:50 +0100 Scientists are finding out how coffee beans are transformed when they pass through the guts of Asian palm civets in the hope of replicating the process without using animals

The Martian permafrost may be hiding veins of habitable liquid water Thu, 23 Oct 2025 16:00:59 +0100 Buried underground near the surface, frozen regions of Mars could have tiny hidden channels full of liquid water, which could be a habitable environment for microscopic organisms

Could a self-monitoring system for criminals replace prisons one day? Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 Future Chronicles is our regular speculative look at inventions yet to come. In this latest installment, we journey to 2050, when technology had been developed so that criminals could be monitored at home. It led to a drop in crime, writes Rowan Hooper

Cloud microbes' colours could help us detect life on other planets Thu, 23 Oct 2025 14:00:46 +0100 Microbes high in Earth’s stratosphere produce pigments to protect them from UV light – so similar molecules could be biosignatures of life elsewhere in the galaxy

This paper should win a prize for its refusal to make any big claims Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 Feedback delights in a 2018 paper that takes care to warn us it reveals “nothing like super interesting”, and embarks on a quest to find more examples of disarming honesty

Horror fans aren't cold and unfeeling – just listen to the science Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 The prevailing wisdom is that horror fans lack empathy and are addicted to adrenaline. My research shows otherwise, says Coltan Scrivner

New Scientist recommends Material World at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

Tweaked lithium-ion battery can be pierced without catching fire Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:00:21 +0100 Lithium-ion batteries are prone to catching fire when damaged, but a simple change of electrolyte material can put a stop to the vicious chemical cycle that causes the problem

An excellent guide to the labyrinthine world of COP summits Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 In the run-up to this year's COP in Brazil, Madeleine Cuff explores The Climate Diplomat, a poignant account by the late Peter Betts, a negotiator who showed what diplomacy can achieve

'Weaponised' CAR T-cell therapy shows promise against solid tumours Thu, 23 Oct 2025 02:00:04 +0100 So far, immune cells that have been engineered to kill cancers, known as CAR T-cells, haven’t worked well against solid cancers - but a study in mice suggests that could soon change

Wegovy has heart health benefits even if weight loss is minimal Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:30:30 +0100 Studies have suggested that Wegovy directly boosts heart health, beyond just the benefits of losing weight, and now that has been demonstrated in a robust trial in people

Gene-edited pigs resistant to swine fever could boost animal welfare Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:00:20 +0100 Classical swine fever reduces productivity and harms animal welfare, but pigs have now been genetically edited to make them completely resistant to the disease

Serum promotes hair growth by mimicking the effects of skin irritation Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:00:48 +0100 Skin irritation, such as through eczema, promotes hair growth in mice, which prompted scientists to create a treatment that works via similar pathways, with no discomfort required

Google says its quantum computer can reveal the structure of molecules Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:00:26 +0100 A new quantum computing protocol may be able to augment a standard technique for understanding molecules in chemistry, biomedicine and materials science

Colour e-paper screen offers high-res video with low energy use Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:00:01 +0100 Future smartphones and other devices could have colour e-paper displays, thanks to a new technique that lets such screens display video while minimising energy usage

Antidepressants vary widely in their physical side effects Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:30:53 +0100 Antidepressants can be very effective, but they also come with side effects that vary from one drug to the next, supporting the idea of more personalised prescriptions

Ultracold atoms could test relativity in the quantum realm Tue, 21 Oct 2025 17:00:46 +0100 Confining and rotating extremely cold atoms or molecules within atomic “Ferris wheels” made from laser light could test relativity’s predictions on the quantum scale

Neanderthal-human hybrids may have been scourged by a genetic mismatch Mon, 20 Oct 2025 10:00:08 +0100 When Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred, a genetic variation affecting red blood cells may have hindered reproduction in women who were hybrids, and this might have played a part in Neanderthals’ demise

A distant comet is forming new rings while we watch in real time Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:30:48 +0100 The comet-like object Chiron has been caught in the process of forming new rings, which could help us understand how these complex systems work

Breastfeeding causes a surge in immune cells that could prevent cancer Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:00:37 +0100 Breastfeeding seems to cause specialised immune cells to flood into the breasts and stay there for years or even decades, reducing the risk of cancer

Eye implant and high-tech glasses restore vision lost to age Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:00:36 +0100 Age-related macular degeneration is a common cause of vision loss, with existing treatments only able to slow its progression. But now an implant in the back of the eye and a pair of high-tech glasses have enabled people with the condition to read again

Hand-powered device disinfects drinking water with nanoparticles Mon, 20 Oct 2025 11:31:46 +0100 Turning the crank on a simple device filled with nanoparticles can remove serious pathogens from water in seconds, making it suitable for areas without electricity

mRNA covid vaccines spark immune response that may aid cancer survival Sun, 19 Oct 2025 14:45:09 +0100 An analysis of patient records suggests that mRNA covid-19 vaccines boost the immune response to cancerous tumours when given soon after people start a type of immunotherapy, extending their lives

We've hit a climate tipping point, but leaders seem unlikely to act Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 A report on the state of the climate has concluded coral reefs are on a knife-edge, even as the world shifts away from making good on net zero

We’re finally reading the secrets of Herculaneum’s lost library Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:00:39 +0100 A whole library’s worth of papyri owned by Julius Caesar’s father-in-law were turned to charcoal by the eruption of Vesuvius. Nearly 2000 years later, we can at last read these lost treasures

What makes a quantum computer good? Mon, 13 Oct 2025 12:00:11 +0100 Claims that one quantum computer is better than another rest on terms like quantum advantage or quantum supremacy, fault-tolerance or qubits with better coherence – what does it all mean? Karmela Padavic-Callaghan sifts through the noise

Who were the first humans to reach the British Isles? Tue, 14 Oct 2025 19:00:31 +0100 As ancient humans left Africa, they encountered many harsh environments including the Sahara and the high Arctic, but one of the last places they inhabited was Britain, likely due to the relentless cold and damp climate

If you love AI, you'll love Ken Liu's new cyberpunk thriller Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 In Ken Liu's All That We See or Seem, a once-famous hacker must find a missing dream-weaver. One for AI fans, but it didn't quite work for Emily H. Wilson

Can chilli powder really stop animals from digging up your garden? Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:00:00 +0100 Chilli powder is touted as a cheap, easy, safe option to protect your garden from foxes and squirrels. James Wong casts a scientific eye on this popular remedy

A radical rethink of what makes your diet healthy or bad for you Mon, 13 Oct 2025 17:00:43 +0100 What you eat has a surprising impact on the pH of your body with wide ranging impacts on your health. But getting the balance right isn’t as simple as eating fewer acidic foods

‘Nightmare’ calculation may be too tricky for even quantum computers Fri, 17 Oct 2025 21:01:12 +0100 Quantum computers hold great potential for solving many problems more quickly or efficiently than conventional computers, but researchers are starting to identify where they could falter

Replacing sugar with artificial sweetener may help your gut microbiome Fri, 17 Oct 2025 19:10:11 +0100 One of the longest trials of artificial sweeteners to date found that they may increase beneficial gut bacteria, though the boost may also be related to weight loss

We can use ordinary sugar in the search for dark matter Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:59:07 +0100 Physicists have tried so many different ways to find dark matter, but none has been successful. Now an unexpected contender has entered the arena - ordinary table sugar.